What's Best
by LostObsession
Summary: Michael's & Walt's POVs during the events of the S2 Finale...Dad, what have you done?...I didn't have a choice. Spoilers for finale. 1st in the Choices Series.
1. Desperation

Summary: Michael's POV. He betrayed his friends in order to rescue the son he barely knows. What was going through his mind as he watched his friends become captives and then drove off in the boat with Walt by his side, knowing they had a chance of getting rescued unlike the friends he sold out? These are his thoughts.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Lost and I'm not making any kind of profit by writing this story. Lost belongs solely to Damon Lindelof, J.J. Abrams, and everyone else at ABC, Touchstone Television, and Bad Robot who help to make it. Besides, if I did own Lost, I wouldn't have to wish almost every episode ended differently, because Shannon and Libby would be alive, Jack and Kate would be together, Locke would have some sense beaten into him, and the Others wouldn't be holding Sawyer, Kate, and Jack captive.

A/N: Well, I'm finally back to writing. I'm planning on this being no more than two chapters long, and the second chapter will most likely depend on the kind of response I receive. I hope everyone enjoys the story!

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Chapter 1-Desperation

**_I didn't have a choice_.** Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley-none of them understand. It was my son. _My son_. _Walt_. What was I supposed to do? Let them have him? What kind of father would I be if I had?

It was either my friends or my son. I had already been deprived of seeing my son for the first nine or so years of his life. I missed his childhood, and now that I finally had the chance of being a real father to him, of getting to know him, I was willing to let that go all just to save my friends?

Yeah, I hardly know Walt; I admit it. Still, he's my _son_! Besides, how well did I really know my friends? Sawyer's a con man and Kate's a fugitive, for God's sake! I didn't know them any better than I know Walt.

Believe me, I did feel bad. It wasn't easy knowing that in order to get Walt back I would have to lie to my friends, betray my friends. They trusted me, and I let them down. I don't blame them for being angry with me or holding me responsible for what they have to go through at the hands of the Others.

But, they have to understand. It was my son. I was just doing what any father, what any parent, would do. I just wanted to get my son back. I just wanted to prove that I can be a good father. I just wanted to protect my son.

I guess what it all comes down to is Walt is my son. I care about him. I mean, I care about my friends too, but that's just it-they're my friends. Walt is my son. You know, they say that blood is thicker than water, and it's the truth. Blood is thicker than water, both literally and figuratively.

Feel free to judge me, to call me a horrible person. What kind of man would kill two of his fellow survivors in cold blood? What kind of man would sell out four of his friends? What kind of man would trade four people for one kid? The answer? A desperate one. I was desperate. I was desperate to get my son back. Ana-Lucia and Libby were a mistake. I didn't want to do what I did, but I had no other choice. Really, I didn't. It was the only way. Which just goes to show that people are right when they say that desperate times call for desperate measures.

And if that still doesn't satisfy you, I need you to know that no matter what you might think, I did have second thoughts about betraying my friends. Especially when I saw all four of them lined up, kneeling in a row on the dock with the Others surrounding them, guns in their hands. It reminded me of an execution, the way they were kneeling there, bound and gagged, held at gunpoint. But I had been promised that they wouldn't be hurt. It was a lot to hope for, I know, but it was all that I had. A promise was all I had to go on. And they let Hurley go. That has to count for something. It just has to. Because I'm a good person, no matter what anyone might think. And I have to believe that I did the right thing. For my son and for myself.

I made the right decision. I did the right thing.

I am a good person, because if the Others are really the "good guys," then I can't be any worse than them, right?

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A/N: Okay, so I hope everyone enjoyed the story. Sorry it's kind of short, but it's not really supposed to be that long anyway. Feel free to review and criticize, compliment, or just comment and to let me know if you want the second chapter or not. If I do end up doing another chapter, it will be in Walt's POV instead.

LostObsession, a.k.a. Ana


	2. For a Price

**A/N**: Okay, so I'm back sooner than expected. I decided to do the second chapter even though no one requested it. It's just something I wanted to write for myself, but I also hope everyone else enjoys reading it. Hopefully it's a longer chapter than the last one, and just so everyone is aware, this chapter, unlike the last one, is in Walt's POV.

Disclaimer: See last chapter...

_**Reviews:**_

Thanks for reviewing Aunt Kim! Glad you liked it!

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For a Price

I knew automatically something was different, something was about to happen. They told me to get into the boat, the same boat that held so many memories for me, none of them good. The same boat that was supposed to hold our rescuers but instead held my kidnappers. The same boat that had driven me farther and farther away from my dad and my friends.

Over the time I had been forced to stay with them, I had discovered it was useless to argue with them. Arguing would accomplish nothing except maybe punishment. So, even though I was scared, even though all I wanted to do was be any place but with them, I obeyed their orders and carefully climbed into the boat, where I was ordered to crouch down, under the steering wheel. Once again, I did as I was told without complaint, out of fear that something bad would happen if I refused.

As we rode over the water, I thought about all of the possibilities. I didn't understand where they were taking me. The only time I had been on the boat was when they had taken me from the raft, so I couldn't think of what they were doing with me now. Were they taking me to another camp? Finding that possibility unlikely, I began to wonder if maybe they were going to kill me. Maybe they would suddenly stop the boat, shoot me with one of their guns, and then throw my body overboard. Then again, why would they even bother to bring me all of the way out here just to kill me? Wouldn't it be easier to kill me at the camp?

I felt confused and frightened. What were they going to do to me? The only thing I wanted was to see my dad again, to go home. I didn't want to be their prisoner anymore, and I didn't want to take anymore of their tests.

Where was my dad? He had promised me that he'd get me away from them, that he'd rescue me. Why hadn't he come to get me yet? I hoped he was alright and that they hadn't hurt him. It would be all my fault if he got into trouble just to save me.

Why should he rescue me anyway? He didn't even really know me, and besides, I had been so rude to him at first. I hadn't appreciated him at all, even though he was my dad. All I could think about was that he was taking me away from Brian and from my home. I thought that he hadn't cared about me enough to visit me before, so why should he care about me now? That was before I knew the whole truth though. He had cared for me; he had even written me those letters. It was my mom's fault that I never knew my dad. I still couldn't understand why she hadn't given me those letters and why she hadn't let me talk to or visit my dad. Why had she kept him out of my life? He didn't seem like he was such a bad guy. Still, I wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to rescue me after how I'd treated him. He did promise that he would though, and I don't think he would have promised if he didn't intend to try, right?

I had been so busy thinking that I hadn't even realized that the boat had come to a stop until one of them repeated the order for me to stay down. Like I would have stood up, anyway. Who knew what they'd do if I disobeyed an order.

If the boat had stopped, that meant we must have reached our destination. I wondered where we were and wished I could stand up, just for a second, just to see where we were. I knew I couldn't though, even if I wanted to. Although most of them had left the boat, there was still one on it with me, making sure I was following orders. They wouldn't dare leave me alone.

We seemed to just stay there for awhile, waiting. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in which my legs started to get sore from crouching, I heard the sound of footsteps hurriedly approaching. Apparently, the guy guarding me heard them to and was following the progress of whoever was walking coming towards the boat. All of a sudden, the guy seemed to be satisfied that whoever it was had come close enough to the boat, and he stepped out, leaving me briefly alone and even more confused. They never left me alone, so why would they now, especially when I was on a boat and could flee?

My thoughts were interrupted as the someone who had been approaching stepped onto the boat, and quickly walked over to where I was crouching. They suddenly spotted me, and I was surprised to hear the sound of my name being called.

"Walt?" Was that my dad's voice? No, it couldn't be. It was just my imagination playing tricks. Then I looked up, and realized that this time I was wrong. This time, it wasn't my imagination. Eyes widening, I looked into my dad's face, and knew I wasn't dreaming. This was real.

"Dad!" I launched myself at him, bursting with joy, wonder, and disbelief. He had come for me! I couldn't believe it! Hugging him tightly, I finally felt happy for the first time in weeks. It was a dream come true. I was free! My dad had kept his promise! He had rescued me!

"Walt!" My dad sounded just as happy and relieved as I felt. I smiled, glad that it was finally over. No more tests, no more being forced to stay with the Others. I was truly free!

"Are you alright?" my dad asked, pulling away slightly in order to inspect me closely. I nodded, overwhelmingly happy. "Are you sure?" asked my dad, sounding concerned and desperate to know I was okay. Once again, I nodded, and he pulled me into another hug. I was okay now.

"I've missed you so much, Dad!" I whispered, overcome by emotion, gripping him tightly.

"Everything's going to be okay now, Walt. Everything's going to be okay, I promise," my dad replied. And I believed him, because when he made a promise, he kept it, just like he had kept his last one.

"Everything's going to be okay now," he repeated again. "We're going home." I didn't ask how we were going home, I just knew he was telling the truth this time. We were going home, and I couldn't have been even more happy. Nothing else mattered.

After both my dad and I had gotten our emotions under control, we broke apart, and I was able, for the first time, to see where we were. The boat was sitting next to a long, wooden dock. A crowd of people stood at the end who I recognized as some of the Others. They had their backs to us, blocking what they were looking at, or rather who they were talking to.

My attention was brought back to my dad who was starting the boat. We were just going to drive away? I was confused again, and I glanced at my dad for some answers, but he looked busy, concentrating-on what, I didn't know.

As we were leaving, passing the dock, I looked at the dock, curious to see what was happening. The sight that met my eyes shocked me. Hurley was walking along the dock, back towards the shore. Glancing at my dad, I found he was looking at the dock as well, but not at Hurley. He was looking towards the group of people, and, following his gaze, I saw what I had been unable to see before while the Others had their backs to the boat. Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were kneeling on the dock before the Others, bound and gagged.

My eyes widened, and I couldn't help but stare. Why were they there? What had happened? Why were we leaving? Shouldn't we help them? I opened my mouth to ask my dad, but I was stopped when I saw all three of our friends staring at us as we passed slowly by them. I was surprised at how defeated they all looked. Kate eyes seemed to plead with us for help. Both Sawyer's and Jack's gazes were directly on my dad. Sawyer looked angry, betrayed, and a little hurt? Even Jack looked angry, betrayed, upset, and a little defeated. What was going on?

Deciding to find out, I again turned to my dad to ask, but one look at his face and I quickly snapped my mouth shut. It was clear from his expression that he didn't want to answer any questions I might have, and became even more clear when he steered my shoulders so I was facing towards the open ocean, away from the sight of our friends.

Determined to not make him mad after just getting him back, I resolved to ask him about the whole thing later. Still, I couldn't get Kate, Jack, and Sawyer's expressions out of my mind. Not knowing what to do, I found myself glancing back when my dad wasn't looking, trying to make sure they were okay, until we got so far away that I was unable to really see anything anymore.

I desperately hoped they were okay. I couldn't figure out why we had left them there. Why hadn't we stopped to help them? I knew dad wanted to leave, but they were our friends. We should have helped them. Especially after all of the times that they had helped us. Sawyer had even tried to stop the Others from taking me and got shot for it. Didn't we owe them anything?

The main question that I kept wondering though was, why were they there in the first place? It didn't make any sense. I doubted whether Jack, Kate, and Sawyer would be stupid enough to walk into a trap or get captured. Even Hurley wouldn't have been that stupid. But it appeared as though they had. So, what had happened?

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. How had my dad been able to rescue me? He had been able to waltz right up to the boat, and then get both the boat and I without fighting anyone. The only possible way he had been able to do that is if he had made a deal with the Others.

I closed my eyes, getting a horrible feeling all of a sudden. My dad had made a deal. A deal that I would bet had something to do with bringing Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer to the Others.

Betrayal. Both Sawyer and Jack had had a look of betrayal in their eyes as they stared at my dad. Everything was clear now. My dad had betrayed our friends and brought them to the Others in order to rescue me. Dad, what have you done? I couldn't believe it, but I knew it was true. I felt sick.

What would our other friends do without them, especially Jack? What if someone got sick or hurt? Who would treat them? Jack was our only doctor. If someone got seriously injured, then there was nothing anyone could do. Boone had already died, and that was with Jack there. What would happen to everyone else? I became frightened thinking about Locke and all of my other friends.

How could my dad do this? I wished everything would just go back to the way it was before.

A heavy feeling of guilt settled over me. It was all my fault. None of this wouldn't of happened if it wasn't for me. I should have been happy. I was rescued; I was free. Only now Kate, Jack, and Sawyer would have to pay the price. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.

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**A/N:** Well, this story is officially complete, but for those of you who haven't heard already, this story is going to be the first in my new Choices series, focusing on the choices the different characters were forced to make during the finale from their own POVs. So, there will be plenty more to come. The next story in the series will be focusing on Hurley's POV when he was forced to choose between leaving his friends or trying to stay with them after the Others told him he was free to go. Hopefully, it will be done within the next week or so, so please feel free to check it out!

I hope everyone enjoyed the story, and, as always, thanks for reading!

LostObsession, a.k.a. Ana


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